The Kindest Creatures
The sound of metal colliding with metal echoed across the bunker's library.
"Dude, watch it! Are you trying take my eye out?"
"Sorry, maybe you should duck more!"
There was another clink as the brother's mock sword fight continued, followed by a scraping sound when Sam managed to send his brother's sword flying out of his hand. Sam had to laugh when he saw the shocked look on Dean's face. Dean stared first at his empty hand, then across the room where the sword had slid and finally at Sam with a look of disbelief.
Sam had a triumphant smile on his face, "What?"
Dean gave a brief scowl and went to the fridge, pulling out two beers. "Lucky hit…rematch after Game of Thrones."
"After you get ticked off at everyone?" Sam replied, only half kidding as he followed his brother to couch. "I think I'll take the win now." He paused a moment, "Man, we got nowhere today. It's like these people are vanishing into thin air."
But, Dean had already turned on the flatscreen. "Yahuh, sure," was his distracted reply as Daenerys appeared on screen for the opening scene.
Sam shook his head. He should know better. Game of Thrones was Game of Thrones time and he doubted even another apocalypse would get Dean away from the television for that hour. They would discuss it later. Besides, he wanted to know who would win tonight, too.
"Not in a straight line!" "SERPINTINE!" The boys yelled out together a half hour into the show and just shook their heads at the inevitable.
The giant was just beginning to pummel the Winterfell gate when Sam did a double take. Were the sound guys on the show playing a joke or was he losing his mind? He could have sworn he heard a swooshing sound…almost like… Sam turned away from the screen and stared as a blue telephone box materialized in the kitchen and a man in a blue jumpsuit walked out.
"Oh, hello," he said cheerily and then looked around, staring at Dean who was now punching the air with Jon as he pummeled Ramsay. "Is he alright? You know I'm not an actual doctor. Although….there was this one time…"
Sam just stared at the man open mouthed, blinking his eyes and shaking his head, convinced he had to be hallucinating. Sam was vaguely aware of and curious about the conversation on screen he heard and dared sneak a quick peek.
Apparently the Doctor had been curious, too. "No. No! What kind of person…?!" The Doctor asked.
That finally caught Dean's attention who had suddenly, finally, realized there was someone else in the room. Dean spun around, his smile disappearing as he did so and pulled out his .45. "First off, are you really asking that?! Second off, who the hell are you?!"
"Dean! Put the gun down!" Sam shouted, more than a little bewildered.
Dean lowered the gun only a quarter.
The doctor barely raised his hands, pacifying. "It really is no way to treat someone who wants to help. I'm the Doctor. I'd say please to meet you, but... "
Sam moved almost between the two, a staying hand out to both. He nodded slowly. "To help? …Is this about? What a second, does this have anything to do about the missing people?"
"Sorry, was that not obvious?" the Doctor responded. "Right, sorry. She warned me not to barge in like this. Force of habit." Dean had tentatively lowered his gun. "Thank you. Dean, is it? And Sam? You see I got a message from a girl…Tina, yes. Tina said you gave her a second chance or something with some weird case involving a witch."
"Got turned back to a kid, Tina?" Dean asked incredulously.
"Yea, something like that."
"What's it to you?"
"Well you see, she said people disappearing had probably caught your attention, but her great grandmother had told her stories and wondered if this was like those stories. If she's right, she thought I might be of help."
"Who was her great grandmother?" Sam asked.
"A good friend of mine. Sally Sparrow."
Now it was Dean who was incredulous at the doctor. "Weeping angels and these guys are made of stone? I've always said angels are dicks, but come on! Now you're telling me even those statues in the cemeteries want to kill people? They've been there for ages all over the world."
"They're clever and very patient. Stone doesn't need to hurry. Stone just waits and eventually someone blinks."
"It seems they've gotten impatient now," Sam mentioned.
"Something must have attracted them," the Doctor frowned, pacing, "but what?" There was a pause and he started to mumble. "No one's gone and done something stupid with a nuclear bomb again? That was a massacre and feast for them. What about…solar flares, possible but wrong time of the year, really. Has anyone discovered a black hole or…no one's imploded the sun, obviously. No. Now you're just being stupid. Thiiink! Maybe there's an infestation and influx of"
Sam and Dean looked at each other. Dean had an expression that implied he thought the man was crazy, but Sam had picked up on something else. "Wait. What was that about the sun?"
"What? Well, technically if sun imploded it would send off a mass energy field that the angels would be attracted to like stars to a stellar stream. But, that's ridiculous. This planet can't survive with the sun which appears to be in perfect working order…" the doctor pointed his sonic screwdriver at the sun. "See. As expec…wait….Noo. It's not in perfect working order." He looked up. "It's effective, but like it's been weakened, in recovery." He looked back to the boys and curiously, almost accusingly asked, "What's happened to your sun?" He looked back to the sky as if trying to manually examine it.
"Uh…" Sam looked at Dean.
"No," Dean wanted to dismiss.
"No what?"
"Uh, we… might have…almost destroyed the sun…about a month ago."Sam answered.
The Doctor looked at them. "And this is the source city. I've heard a lot of stories about the Winchesters, but I must say that is astounding, even for you two."
"I hear you have a few stories yourself, Doctor," Sam said.
Doctor considered, "Well…. Not the point. Point iss…what do we do about it? Well, get rid of the angels, but that's easier said than done."
"Tell me about it," Dean mumbled.
"Right. We have to draw them out and be able to trap them. Drawing them out won't be difficult but trapping them is the problem." He paused a moment. My TARDIS! It's the perfect bait and as long as we're inside, we just have to wait for them surround it…" The TARDIS started humming loudly as if protest.
He turned to her. "Now don't be like that. You know nothing's going to happen. This isn't your first rodeo." The humming increased another moment before petering out as if to say "Fine." The Doctor patted her. "That's my girl."
"Doc…" Dean called.
"Right, yes, sorry. So it's settled. Allons-y!" The TARDIS doors opened and the Doctor beckoned them inside.
"Wait, wait, wait a minute!" Dean protested. "Do you hear yourself? Sam, come on. What proof do we have these, these…" Dean scowled and lifted his hands searchingly, "weeping angels are even the reason for this. Sam and I were thinking some sort of cursed object. That makes a hell of a lot more sense to me."
The Doctor considered. "It's not impossible. But one theory will disprove the other and I'd guess it takes the angels less time to find us than for you two to find a potential cursed object. Do you even have any clues as to what it might be if you're right?"
They frowned and looked down. "Dean, it's worth a shot."
"You've got 24 hours," Dean conceded, shaking his head.
The Doctor smiled and again invited them inside. "I reckon it'll be sooner than that if I'm right."
Dean and Sam walked into the TARDIS. Both had an amazed look, but Sam was more excited wheras Dean was more confounded.
"This is incredible!" "This is impossible!" They said at the same time.
Sam stopped Dean from the natural instinct to do a double take of the outside. "Dean, it's alright. Doctor, like I said, I've heard stories, but this is better than I ever imagined." The Doctor beamed.
Dean asked Sam, "What are you talking about?"
Sam shrugged, unashamed. "You have your shows. I have mine. Maybe if you bothered watching an episode..."
"Aliens, Sam?"
"Hey, now," the Doctor protested.
"Mimi's Ballet Studio?" Dean griped as he stood in the middle of a large linoleum room with pink trim. "Why does it have to be a freaking ballet studio!?"
"I already told you!" the Doctor said. "Quantum…"
Sam held up a hand to the Doctor and explained to Dean. "We don't know how many angels there are. With luck, it's an even number and the TARDIS traps them once it disappears."
"Now wait, it doesn't disappear…"
"Right," Sam disregarded and continued. "With our history of no luck, it's an odd number which leaves one angel who wouldn't instantly be trapped by looking at another one. But, it would if saw its reflection. Hence the mirrors and the location. We're covered on all fronts."
"Won't they avoid it because of the mirrors?"
"Actually, no." the Doctor interjected. "You see, they're incredibly difficult to trap, but they aren't actually all that smart. My TARDIS should be too big a temptation and you'll notice the mirrors are currently draped." He held up a remote. "One button push and that changes, but the angels won't realize that."
"Sam," Dean called. An angel had just appeared outside.
"Quickly, inside," the Doctor beckoned and then called. "Well come on! You know you want her!"
"Doc, it won't open!"
"What?!" he rushed over. The door didn't budge. "No! Come on! It doesn't make sense…"
"Doc!" Dean called again.
The doctor spun around to see the angel inside the studio. "Keep staring at it!" He turned back to the TARDIS and tried snapping his fingers. It didn't open. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver. It didn't open.
"Doctor, there are more of them!" Sam called.
The Doctor spun around to glare at the third angel that had appeared inside. "You think you're being smart, trying to feed its energy to lock us out, huh? Well, let me tell you!" He hit the remote button . The curtains didn't move.
Dean saw the Doctor's expression change in the mirror. "Doctor, what is it?"
"They're pulling the energy from the TARDIS to control everything psychopathically or electronically controlled in this room. They think they'll get a feast. But, it's too much. The TARDIS and I aren't locked to this time, if they feed on us it'll create a paradox that'll obliterate this town! No! No! There's got to be something I'm missing." In the mirror, Sam saw the doctor's expression get excited for all of one second before dropping into despair."
"Doctor?" Sam called.
"Hey!" Dean warned. Another angel appeared in his periphery and without moving his eyes, aimed and pulled the trigger on his shotgun. The angel fell into rubble. "That seems to work."
"No!" The Doctor shouted, looking at the angel in distress.
"Doc, this is no time to be considerate!" Dean aimed at another angel that had appeared.
"Dean," the doctor responded cooly. "It doesn't destroy them. I don't have time to explain. But, they're feeding off the energy in this room and…" He motioned to the first angel Dean had shot and which was now slowly coming back to form. Dean's mouth dropped open.
"What we do? Doctor you had an idea, I saw it." Sam asked.
"It's not a solution."
"Doctor?" Sam asked again, insistent but calm.
The Doctor's voice was sad. "They're feeding off the energy in the room. It's taking up some of their concentration. The second they take to feed, their control of the mechanics should release and the plan could still work, but…."
"Someone doesn't come back." Sam said. "What if it still doesn't work?"
"All along they were the ones laying the trap. I should have known!" the Doctor cried. Another angel appeared. "DON'T!" The Doctor ordered as Dean raised his shotgun. "Split your attention. It'll hold them for a while."
"Not forever," Sam said softly.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"If it works, we win and the town is safe, right? Dean, isn't that our job? Saving people, hunting things..."
Dean's face twisted for a second. "Well you're not going alone. We end up in the same time?"
"I don't know," the Doctor almost pleaded.
"Doc, you end these sons of bitches, "Dean ordered and then granted Sam's sentence. "The family business."
"Dean?" Sam called. "I'm really glad you came and get me at Stanford all those years ago."
Dean's face broke, but he tried to smile. "I don't know. Maybe we should've stayed home this time, Sammy."
"Like you would have," Sam ended. They both nodded and turned away from the angels to look at each other.
Sam noticed the noise before anything else. He tried to orient himself and pushed himself up from the brick wall he had turned up slumped against. He thought he recognized an old record of the Bee Gees playing in what looked like a nightclub. Sam blinked a few times then, not quite able to reconcile what he was seeing. Unless he was mistaken, that was Rufus with an afro who was slow dancing to the song in a white jumpsuit with some redheaded woman.
"Hey buddy, you okay?" a blonde haired girl in a tie dye shirt had walked up to ask him.
"Uh, yeah, I think so. Maybe too much too drink. Wh, what year is it?"
She laughed. "Yeah, maybe. It's 1971, hon." She smiled…."I think. At least, last I checked. Nice clothes."
Sam let out a disbelieving laugh. Clearly, she had a bit too much of….heck something, if it was the 70s, who knows what. He kept looking around, though. He didn't see Dean anywhere and was starkly reminded of him when a Stevie Wonder number started playing out. It certainly wasn't Dean's go to artist, but he still respected his music. Actually, come to think of it, Dean was going to be next to impossible considering they'd landed in the era of sex, drugs and rock and roll. If it was 1971 and Sam wasn't mistaken, ACDC would only be formed in a few years, but that would mean they would get to see their first concert live…and Led Zepplin was currently on tour. He supposed that was something to look forward to.
He was brought out of his thoughts when he saw the man he thought was Rufus reach for something-was that a pager?! Sam had to assume so as he walked over to a phone booth near Sam. "What is it now? I knew I should have left the damn, thing. What? Bobby, you ain't making a lick of sense. Slow down, alright. I'll be there. Sure you aren't on something?"
Sam smiled, he could only assume it was Bobby and Rufus. And he had a guess for where to find Dean now.
"Bobby?" Dean asked, surprised and a little uncertain. He had already nervously noted that Sam appeared nowhere in sight. Meanwhile, the man he was staring at looked like Bobby, but in corduroy slacks with longer hair and actually younger than him.
"Yeah. Who are you?"
"Uh, hunter. Dean. My name's Dean Winchester. I, uh, I was hunting this…I don't even know what and next thing I know I'm here."
"Winchester? Haven't heard of you."
Dean was trying to figure out a timeline by the way the conversation was going. "Uh, yea well, kind of split from my parents. My grandmother's a Campbell."
"Oh, yeah, I knew the Campbells. Damn shame the way this life works out, I'm finding. Glad their kid get out of it, but I guess I had to come and fill the hole." His look was so acutely painful for a minute Dean realized the incident with Bobby's wife must be fresh; but, the look was gone almost as soon as it came. " So what were you doing hunting something you know nothing about with no back up, y'idjit."
"Eh, I guess." Dean admitted with a smile.
"Alright buddy, hang on. You look like you could use some help. Let me see what I can do." Bobby picked up one of five landlines on his wall, ending with. "Rufus! Just get over here!"
"What'd you expect calling me on a Sunday night?" Rufus had replied to Bobby's question of his wardrobe. Dean had done a double take, for sure, when he had shown up 30 minutes later, but he had other things on his mind. Dean had just started trying to explain himself when he stopped mid sentence and went outside. He let out a sigh of relief and went running to embrace his little brother that had just driven up in a hotwired blue Mustang.